No Escape from the Storm Inside Of Me
by CrystalHauntress
Summary: He is gone. But with his death comes a storm. A storm that always starts raging whenever she thinks of him. Then someone else comes into the picture. Will that someone else be able to stop the storm for good? One-shot.


She gulps, the park bench that she is sitting on becoming less and less comfortable. Brandon has been gone for more than three months and she _still _hasn't got over him. His spirit is there, haunting her mind as she closes her eyes, willing the tears to fall.

Her friends, the Winx, and the rest of the specialists keep on telling her that it is OK to cry in a time like this. So she says that she knows and she _wants _to cry, to release her burden, but something inside of her is telling her not to. The same part of her tells her that crying is for sissies and that Brandon wouldn't want her to cry, if he was still with them.

But he's not. He risked his life and well being to save her own. He saved her from Icy's wrath; the wrath that she would have been able to defend herself against if he hadn't jumped in.

Again, Stella gulps. She doesn't understand why she can't let herself cry. All the Winx and the specialists - even Riven, the somewhat emotionless and the guy-with-the-cocky-attitude Riven - cried. Well, not exactly _cried _but was still quiet. For a whole week. That is longer than everyone else but her. No boasts, no insults, no cocky remarks came from him.

She feels as if there is a storm inside her. Swirling around, making her have the biggest heartache. None of her previous break ups have caused her this much pain.

But then again, none of her previous break ups were due to death. This situation is much, much harder to deal with and get over. This time, her beloved Brandon, her fiancé, had died saving her.

That fact makes it worse. She can't help but blame herself for it. She should have put up a Charmix shield. She should have been able to defend herself.

Stella feels the tears brush her tear line ands thinks: _this is it_. But no sooner have the tears found their way to the brim of her eyes, they retreat almost immediately. She puts her hand to her eyes and feels that they are dry. No sign of the tears. She groans internally, closing her eyes.

And there he is. Him. He's there, his perfectly angled face, his high cheekbones, his brown hair, his shiny brown eyes - and the one thing that makes Stella feel the guiltiest. His smile. The loving, caring, happy smile that used to make her feel calm and welcome.

Now it just starts up the storm again, making the imaginary wind howl and the thunder rage. She opens her eyes; though no matter how hard she tries, the storm inside her just swirls angrily and mockingly, as if it is trying to tell her that Brandon's death is _her _fault.

Eventually, she even hears thunder and lightning crackle in her ears. She winces and instantly covers her ears with her hands. _Stop, stop! _She wills in her head, _please, I can't take this anymore! _But the storm doesn't listen to her wills. Instead it keeps at pouring the sounds of the storm into her ears and heart. She closes her eyes tight, so much so that it feels as if her eyelids are folding onto her irises.

She wills it to stop again, and this time it seems to listen to her. The thunder is gone, the lighting stops crackling, the howling wind lowers to a gentle breeze and then dies down completely.

So she opens an eye. And gasps. Now with both eyes open and wide, she curses in her brain. The storm has _really _started now. In reality. For real. The _real _wind howls, the _real _lightning crackles, the _real _thunder rumbles and even the real rain pours.

Stella sighs heavily. Won't the storm ever leave her alone?

But she sits. She creates a rain jacket out of her magic and puts a thick layer of fake fur inside to keep herself warm. She sits because if she goes back to Alfea, all the memories will be back. Everything and everyone near Alfea reminds her of him. And she can't even bear thinking about _that _school.

The rain falls on to her head, pushing her former bouncy blonde hair flat against her jacket. But for the first time in forever, she can't care in the least. Her appearance doesn't matter to her anymore. What matters now is that she is trying to get over Brandon.

She doesn't want to, obviously, but that's what _he _would have wanted for her. He would have wanted her to move on, find another guy and live her life as the sunshine star that she is. And she _is _trying.

But Brandon was the only guy who brought out the sunshine the best in her. He was able to make her laugh and smile so much more than any other guys have and ever will.

That is a terrible move. Now she can see his face while her eyes are still open and the storm starts inside her heart as well as outside. She closes her eyes tight again, hoping it will go away. It doesn't work. _Great_, she thinks, _just fucking great_.

She puts her hands over her ears again; trying to block out any sort of sound the storm makes. But that is hard, especially when the actual howl of the gale blows the hard and crunchy autumn leaves in her face. Her wet hair blows wildly around her as she tries to move her face away.

"Stella, Stella, open your eyes," she hears. She knows that voice. While it isn't _his_ voice, it's still recognizable. She shakes her head, still clamping her hands over her ears, "come on, Stella, please?" With a heavy heart (the storm still hasn't subsided) she does as she is asked.

"Riven? What are you doing here?" She asks reluctantly. Riven chuckles as he sits down next to her on the bench. Even though he is only wearing his Red Fountain uniform and a red hoodie over the top of it, making him look somewhat ridiculous, he seems to be literally unaffected by the cold. Stella doesn't make eye contact with him; instead she clasps her hands together on her lap and looks down at them, her cheeks turning a faint rosy pink.

"I can ask you the same question. You've been out in the rain for God knows how long," he scoffs.

Even though there is a decent sized gap in between them, Stella feels as if she is sitting too close to him. So, still looking down at her lap, she wraps her jacket tighter around her body and shuffles a small amount in the opposite direction from Riven. He raises an eyebrow but doesn't press the matter.

"Seriously," he says again, "you need to _cry_, Stella. That's the only way you'll get over him," Riven doesn't say Brandon's name because he knows it will bring the memories back to the both of them.

This causes something to snap inside of the Fairy of the Shining Sun. She lifts her head abruptly and glares at him, her eyes flashing with rare anger, "do you think I don't _want _to cry?!" She thunders at him, "do you think I'm holding my tears back _on purpose_?!" Riven flinches; Stella's never been this rough with him before, even when he annoyed the hell out of her. She always managed to brush him off with her own snarky remark or an insult. She's never blown up at him like she just had.

He wants to make a snarky comment about her sudden change in mood but even he can see that he's taken it too far. This is a very traumatic situation for Stella – he should have known that she is vulnerable, "Stella, I'm really sorry," he says, "I really am,"

But Stella isn't listening. All she knows is that she needs to get her rant out, "I don't see how you can say that!" She yells, "I haven't seen _you _crying!" Riven sighs and runs a hand through his spiky magenta hair.

Without losing his composure, he says, "I don't cry when it comes to death," he says with sincerity. Stella scoffs.

"Even when it is _one of your best friends_?" She says, folding her arms across her chest.

"Look," he sighs, "I really am sorry about what I said, Stella. I wasn't thinking,"

"Yeah," she holds her head up high, "sure you weren't. You never are, are you?" She says, her voice dripping with sarcastic venom. Riven sighs.

"Oh, Stella," he breathes out, "what do I have to do to make you realize that I didn't mean to say what I did?" He asks forlornly.

Stella stands up, he hands balling into fists instantly by her sides, "Nothing! You won't be able to do _anything_ to show me you're sorry. Because you are _not_ sorry!"

Riven sighs. Then he has an idea. He grabs her wrist and pulls her back down on the bench seat. Holding her lithe waste in his large hands, he pulls her closer, and covers her mouth with his. Her eyes widen and her eyebrows furrow in confusion and anger. She struggles in his strong grasp, writhing to get out.

Feeling her struggle, he lets go of her waist, and grabs her hands. So she smirks against his lips and steps on his toe with her stiletto heel.

It's Riven's turn to widen his eyes. He lets go of her immediately and his hand reaches for his foot.

"_What _in the name of Magix was _that _for?!" She shouts as he visibly winces.

"Just to show you I was sorry," he says as his cheeks flush bright red which is very unusual for him, but Stella doesn't seem to notice.

"Right," She sighs, "Riven, what about _Musa_? I am going to tell her you did this, you know!" She stands up, turning away from him and holding her mid-section, bowing her head.

Now he's kissed her, it has made the storm inside her worse. Even the actual rain pours down with much more force. The wind howls faster both inside and out, "Stella, please, just-"

"No!" She holds her hand out, silencing him, "No, Riven. That was just _wrong_!" She starts walking away from him, in the opposite direction from Alfea. He stands up and starts to follow her, "Go. Away. Riven!" She says, frowning.

"No, Stella. I _am _going to make you cry," he says with firmness in his voice.

"Gee, when did you start caring?" She says dryly.

He sighs. Now is the best time to tell her. "Stella, I started caring-" he starts but is interrupted by Stella, who turns to face him.

"That was a rhetorical question, Riven!"

"Stella, please, just be quiet for two minutes while I speak. Please," he says. Stella gives a low groan and that brings the smirk back onto his face, "there's the Stella we all know," Stella's eyebrow shoots up to her hairline.

"Just say what you want to say, Riven," she says sharply, "I'm not standing out in the rain to be stalled by stupid guys like you!" She wants to tell him about the storm and after a long debate in her head, she finally decides to speak up about it, "You've just made the storm a hell of a whole lot worse, you know!"

Riven looks around with the most confused expression on his face, "huh?" he asks, "it's been like this ever since I got out here. You know, the rain, the gale, the thunder and the lightning," he shrugs and Stella sucks in a breath.

"Not _that_ storm, Riven," she says with a sigh, "the storm inside. Of me. It howls whenever I think of him, thunder and lightning rumbling and crackling in my ears, and you kissing me has made it worse," she turns away from him again, "I just wish there was a way to escape. I want to be free of the storm, the storm that haunts me like his spirit does," her voice breaks and this brings a small and sympathetic smile out of Riven.

"Well then, let me tell you something," he starts, reaching for her again. She tries to dodge but his quick reactions get the better of her and she is in his arms, her back against his chest, "ever since I saw you over at Bloom's place on Earth, I saw a shining light in you. Ever since then, I knew that there was a niggling part of me that had feelings for you," he stops to let her take in the first part of his confession. She turns her head to look up at him with a raised eyebrow, "yes, that's what I said. But then I saw you had no interest in me, always flouncing off after Brandon," he says his name now, like it won't bother them.

"So I tried to deny those feelings because I knew that you were too deep in with Brandon to change your mind. That's why I went after Musa – to try and transfer those feelings from you to her," he lets out a heavy sigh, "but it didn't work. No matter how hard I tried to tell myself that I was over you and I loved Musa, I knew that there would always be a part of me that loved you. And there still is," Again after a brief pause, he says, "after the somewhat unfortunate incident with that witch, I thought I could have a chance with you," Stella gasps. Did he just say what she thinks he said? "I love you, Stella," she turns around in his arms to face him.

"So what's with you and Musa right now? Are you over?" She asks. She is not going to make any sort of decision until she knows what is going on between Riven and one of her best friends.

"Musa and I obviously weren't working and we both seemed to want to end the… whatever it is that we were in, at the same time. Stella, we're not together anymore, and I don't think she minds," He says, and with a smile she wraps her arms round his neck.

"Riven, did you just say that you love me?" She asks. He nods.

She untangles herself from his arms and steps back. Closing her eyes, she wills the storm inside her to stop, if not die down a little bit. No response, meaning no escape. But she doesn't care anymore. She knows she has to move on. While she will never, ever stop loving Brandon, she knows that he would have wanted her to move on if anything was to break them up. So she decides that's what she's going to do. Move on. Live her life to her full potential. Brandon will still hold a special place in her heart, but she won't dwell over him. _I love you, Brandon. So, so, much. But I know you would have wanted me to move on. So that's what I'm doing. _With that thought, it feels like she has released her burden and the constraints that were previously on her have been lifted.

She opens her eyes and a single tear runs down her cheek. Riven holds her again, and cupping her face with his hand, he wipes her tears away, which are now falling freely.

"Better?" He asks in a whisper. A whisper so quiet that it is almost inaudible under the sounds of the storms. She nods, not struggling out of his grip but leaning into it.

"Much," She agrees, "thank you, Riven," with that they both lean in and their lips meet. Stella doesn't fight to get out this time, instead she kisses him back with equal passion, if not more.

The storm outside fades away, the gale dying down and the thunder and lightning disappearing. The rain stops pouring down and as it vanishes, it takes Stella's magical rain jacket with it.

But neither Stella nor Riven notice. Instead they are swept up in only each other. No one else. Just themselves, and their love.


End file.
